A wastebed along the shoreline of Onondaga Lake (facing southeast),
including rotting remnants of a pier which had been built to try to keep
the wastebed material corralled. Photo: Ed Michalenko, Onondaga Environmental
Institute,2002

For hundreds of years before European
intervention, the Onondaga people lived on the shores of Onondaga Lake and
fished in its waters.

Centuries ago, the Peacemaker brought the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida,
and Mohawk Nations together on the shores of Onondaga Lake. At the lakeshore,
these warring nations accepted the message of peace, laid down their arms, and
formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy - the first representative democracy in
the West. The lake became a sacred place, one that must be cared for and respected.

The Onondagas were good stewards of the lake until New York, in defiance of
federal law, took control of it and the surrounding areas.

Onondaga Lake's Industrial
Era
In 1884, the Solvay Process Company set up its soda ash manufacturing plant
at Onondaga Lake. At first, Solvay dumped its industrial byproducts directly
into the lake. For every kilogram of soda ash produced, Solvay discharged 1.5
kilograms of waste, either directly into the lake, or into wastebeds on the
lakeshore. In 1920, the Solvay Process Company merged with four other companies
to become Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Over the years, Allied Chemical
and Dye Corporation changed its name to Allied Corporation, and through more
mergers became AlliedSignal.

Over the next century, manufacturing operations increased at
Onondaga Lake to include chemicals like caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine,
and bleach. With this diversification came expansion. Allied built more plants
to produce more chemicals, and increased the size of factory sites and wastebeds
to hold the increased waste. In the late 1980s, chemical production at the lake
ceased, due in large part to a changing economy.

In 1999, AlliedSignal merged with Honeywell International to form
a global technology corporation with $26 billion in annual revenues. Although
AlliedSignal was the larger partner in the merger, the new company kept the
Honeywell name, in part to escape the legacy of chemical industry attached to
the AlliedSignal name. Honeywell is responsible for dismantling the former AlliedSignal
production facilities and cleaning up the polluted sites.

The Polluted Legacy of Onondaga Lake
Industrial pollution has severely damaged Onondaga Lake - so much so that local
residents assume that it is the most polluted lake in the United States.
In its current state, the lake itself is harmful to human health and the environment.
The lake contains dangerous levels of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, along with
unsafe levels of other heavy metals and toxic industrial chemicals. Elevated
levels of some of these contaminants extend to a depth of at least 25 feet in
lake-bottom sediments.

Each of the chemicals taken individually is harmful. Combined, they create
a toxic stew whose effects may never be fully understood.

In addition to toxic pollutants, Onondaga Lake struggles with very high nutrient
levels. Nutrients promote the growth of algae, a water plant that drains the
lake of oxygen. Without oxygen, fish and other life cannot survive. For many
years ammonia and phosphorus were released into the lake water from Metro (Syracuse's
main sewage treatment plant) and from sewage overflows. Onondaga Lake's cold-water
fishery has all but disappeared as a result.
Recent improvements to Metro and certain modifications in the city's sewer system
have decreased the amount of nutrients in the lake, allowing for the partial
comeback of certain types of fish. But more progress must be made before Onondaga
Lake's fish can thrive.

What's Wrong With the NYS "Cleanup
Plan"?
The plan agreed to by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC),
Honeywell, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) calls for dredging
some lake-bottom sediments, "capping" some sediments (placing a layer
of sand on top of them), and constructing an underground wall around part of
the southwest end of the lake. Additionally, the plan calls for the cleanup
of nine upland sites, all of which continue to pollute the lake.

Since NY and Honeywell released their Onondaga Lake "cleanup plan"
in the summer of 2005, the Onondaga Nation has vociferously opposed it. Numerous
engineers and scientists have shown that the plan will not be protective of
human health or the environment, and that even after the "cleanup"
the lake will still be polluted enough to qualify as a toxic waste site. Unfortunately,
NYSDEC and USEPA refuse to meaningfully consult with the Onondaga Nation as
required by federal law, and all of the Nation's concerns - backed by experts
in the field - have fallen on deaf ears.